Maple Hearts
by Kousagi7Yami
Summary: The fourth installment of my "Hearts" series. Canada and Prussia's turn! Human names used


**Me-PruCan was one of the most asked for pairings, so here you go! Yes, I did base their meeting roughly off Prussia's blog.**

**Disclaimer-I own the story, that's it.**

Gilbert Beilshmidt would never say he was lonely. Jealous, maybe, but never lonely. Both of his friend's hearts had broken already. Albeit, only one of them had gotten replaced, but that's another story. Francis told him several times already that everyone's broke at different times and that it was all about patience. Antonio had told him that the wait was well worth it. Gilbert was not that patient of a man. It wasn't that he didn't care who his heart went to, it was more of a question of when, if at all. Luckily, the only thing weighing on his mind that morning was April Fools day. He knew Antonio and Francis would do _something_ to prank him and he knew he would have to pay them back triple. He opened his locker and was relieved to find that everything seemed to be normal. "Um, excuse me?" Gilbert turned to see who was talking to him and was greeted by the sight of what was possibly the most adorable human being on the planet.

He had blond hair that just barely brushed his shoulders with one stray curl that hung in front of his glasses-covered eyes which were an appealing lilac color. He wore a red hoodie with a white leaf on the front, jeans and what appeared to be a polar bear backpack. His heart was blood red. Gilbert ran through his mental list of classes and finally identified the boy before him as Matthew Williams, a grade below him, but in his French class. "Yeah, Matthew, right?" He said, turning to face the blonde.

He couldn't help but notice that he seemed to be carrying a bottle of something. Matthew smiled brightly. "Yes, that's right!" He spoke softly, as though he was afraid that speaking to loudly would scare him off. "I, um, I wanted to give this to you." He held out the bottle.

Gilbert took it and examined it. It seemed to be full of some kind of viscous, amber liquid. "What is it?" He asked, swirling the contents a bit.  
"Maple syrup!" Matthew chirped happily. "It's sure to bring happiness to those who eat it." He blushed a little and kind of folded himself in on himself.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Why would the awesome me need that?" He asked with a bemused smirk.

Matthew toed a mark on the floor. "I overheard Francis and Antonio talking. They were worried about you, and… you're nice to me, so I figured it wouldn't hurt…"

Gilbert tried to follow this train of logic. "Fine, the awesome me will try this… maple syrup."

Matthew brightened. "Great! It goes really good with pancakes! Oh, I'd better get to class. Bye Gilbert!" He headed off and ran a few paces before stopping, turning around and saying. "By the way, don't open your gym locker if you can help it." Then he was off again.

At lunch, Gilbert speared a piece of wurst and munched on it thoughtfully. Antonio and Francis appeared by him very soon. "_Hola, mi amigo_, how has your day been so far?" Antonio inquired as they both sat down.

Suddenly, both of them leapt up out of their seats, the seats of their pants soaked. "April fools suckers!" Gilbert grinned. "That's for the ketchup in my locker!"

Antonio laughed and Francis scowled, muttering something in French as they grabbed new chairs. "Now then, what is _that_, _mon ami_?" He asked, pointing to the bottle of maple syrup he had placed on the table.

"Maple syrup. Matthew gave it to me." He said nonchalantly, eating another piece of wurst.

"Why on earth would he do that?" Francis gasped in mock surprise.

"Said you guys were talking about how you were worried about me and wanted to give it to me since, 'It's sure to bring happiness to those who eat it'" He glared at his friends who simply shrugged.

"You will have to tell us how it tastes, Gilbert." France smirked. "I have been trying to taste Mathieu's syrup for ages." Gilbert threw a fork at him.

H- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"WESSSST! I WANT PANCAKES!" Gilbert hollered once he got home.

"Then why don't you make them yourself?" Ludwig asked calmly, not looking up from one of his many manuals.

"Because I don't wanna!" He proclaimed, setting the bottle of syrup on the counter.

Ludwig sighed, knowing full well how useless it was arguing with his brother. "Fine." He wouldn't even ask him to clean up, knowing that he would just have to do it over again.

H- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Matt, what monstrous thing have you invented?" Gilbert groaned happily, his stomach filled with pancakes and maple syrup.

He did indeed feel happier. He tossed his dishes into the sink and raced to his room before Ludwig could get on his case about it and slammed the door. "Gilbird, I'm home!" He opened the cage and allowed his little yellow puffball of a pet bird sit on his head. "Here buddy, I saved you a pancake." He tore off a small piece and held it up to the bird, who tweeted and ate it out of his fingers.

Gilbert chuckled and tore up the treat, leaving small pieces in his cage to snack on later. "Good huh? Matthew told me about 'em."

Gilbird chirped happily and flew around the room as his master sat down and chuckled at his pet. Quite suddenly, the albino felt a sharp, stabbing pain rip through his chest. What was really startling to him was that it only lasted for a half a second. The poor man sat there, stunned, for a second before making his way to a mirror. "Old Fritz…" he whispered in shock upon seeing what had happened.

Gilbert had a silver heart, a silver heart than now had a crack running down the center. He grinned widely. "'Bout time."

H- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"You seem happy." Gilbert turned to look at Antonio.

"Why wouldn't the awesome me be? My heart cracked!" He grinned

"_Maravilloso_!" The Spaniard cried, throwing his arms into the air. "You've been waiting for a long time! I will keep my eyes open for you, let me see." Gilbert shifted the strap of his backpack.

There was a gasp and a clattering of books and papers a few feet away from them. They both looked to see Matthew standing there, shocked. "Oh, um, sorry, don't mind me!" He quickly began picking up his papers.

Gilbert laughed his trademark laugh. "It's no big deal Mattie." He knelt down and started picking stuff up, Antonio making an exit. "Hey, thanks for the syrup yesterday."

The blonde blushed. "You liked it?"

"I loved it! Man, I could eat pancakes for every meal now! I've never had anything so awesome!" Gilbert grinned like a moron. "Hey, Mattie, why don't you sit with me and my friends at lunch today?"

"You really wouldn't mind?" Matthew asked meekly.

"Why would the awesome me mind?" Gilbert asked, genuinely confused.

"Well, not a lot of people notice me, and when they do, they mistake me for my brother."

"Who's your brother?"

"Alfred F. Jones."

Every piece of paper Gilbert had gathered up slipped from his fingers and scattered again. Matthew laughed. "You should see your face!" He giggled.

Gilbert felt his face grow warm. Matthew had such a cute laugh… He shook himself out of it and asked. "Jones is your _brother_? Why do you guys have different last names?"

Matthew explained that their parents had split up when they were little. His dad kept Alfred in the states and his mother had taken Matthew to Canada, each kept their respective names.

"Well, I'd better get to class… See you at lunch, Gilbert!" He turned and waved.

As he did, Gilbert caught a glimpse of his heart… and was pretty sure it wasn't cracked yesterday.

Once lunch rolled around, Gilbert kept looking around for Matthew. He looked like a prairie dog. The second he came into view, he waved an arm. "MATTIE! OVER HERE!"

Matthew blushed but headed over to the table and sat down. "Thanks for letting me join you." He said quietly.

"Anytime!" Gilbert grinned, "But, seriously, you need to speak up." He didn't mind so much that he was soft spoken, but he could hardly hear him over the din of the lunchroom.

Matthew didn't get a chance to respond because Francis and Antonio descended upon them like bats. "You must be Mathieu! It is truly an honor" Francis purred, giving him a wink, which caused Gilbert to throw a napkin at him.

The rest of lunch was spent talking to Matthew, learning about him and where he came from, what he liked, the classics. Gilbert, however, was distracted by his heart; he couldn't see it because it was covered by a backpack strap. "Hey, Mattie." He said just to get his attention, which it did.

"Why are you calling me 'Mattie' eh?" He asked, the look on his face portraying that he wasn't annoyed.

Gilbert shrugged. "Cuz it's cute, and you're cute." Suddenly a mischievous grin passed his lips. "Actually, I've got a better one!" The poor Canadian looked panicked. "Birdie!"

Gilbert's friends chuckled in approval. "Don't worry, _mon ami_, Gilbert loves birds, I'm sure it's a term of endearment." Francis whispered.

Gilbert stood up and took a seat next to Matthew. "Exactly!" He took this opportunity to push the backpack strap away. He was absolutely thrilled to see his heart was cracked too. Just like his.

H- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Hey Birdie!" Gilbert hollered down a hall full of people to Matthew at the other end of it.

Said Canadian blushed and clung to his bear backpack as Gilbert made his way over to him. "I wanna play 'Simon Says,' but it'll be more awesome, it'll be 'Gilbert Says,' okay?" He grinned, clearly planning something.

Matthew blinked in confusion but decided to play along. "Okay."

"Awesome! Gilbert says put your backpack down." Gilbert started, leaning against the lockers.

Matthew shrugged and did as he said. "Awesome, now… Gilbert says don't move."

Matthew froze up, doing his best not to move. Gilbert laughed. "Gilbert says hug me back."

"Back? But-." Suddenly, the Canadian was being hugged by the older man, and to his pleasant surprise, he did as he was told.

"Now," Gilbert whispered into his ear, "Gilbert says, go on a date with the awesome me."

He let go of the blonde who looked a little surprised, and scared. "Okay." He whispered, seeming surprised at his own answer.

Gilbert felt absolutely giddy. "Awesome. Gilbert says he'll pick you up Friday at seven. Dress casually, Game over!" He spun on his heel, turned and saluted the blonde and ran off to class, being scolded by a teacher on the way, but he didn't care.

He was going on a date with an adorable Canadian.

H- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"The Maple House?" Mathew asked, looking up at the sign.

"Yeah, You got me addicted to pancakes! And I thought you might like pancakes… and the awesome me is currently unemployed." Gilbert laced his fingers behind his head.

Matthew chuckled. "It's fine, I love pancakes!"

Gilbert grinned and led the way. "One awesome table!" He proclaimed upon entering. The hostess quickly found them a table off in the corner. She handed them menus and told them she'd be back in a bit. "What're you gonna get?" Gilbert asked, opening the menu.

"Classic Canadian." The blond decided after a bit. "You?"

"Same." Gilbert glanced at his date, the double meaning clearly lost on him.

The waitress arrived shortly after. "Ready to order?"

The two told her what they wanted and turned back to each other and started talking.

"I only just moved here a few years ago to go to high school. Mom thought it would be good for me and I'm actually glad I got to know my brother better."

"West and I've lived here forever, though we're from Germany, technically. It's funny, I'm older than him, but he acts like the grown-up."

"I can speak French; I just needed to take the class for another credit."

"I've got a pet bird at home, his name's Gilbird; he's just about as awesome as me."

"I really like playing hockey; I'm kind of disappointed this school doesn't have a team."

"I've got a blog, but I'm not like one of those nerds with no life, I actually talk about stuff that matters."

"_Je t'aime_."

Gilbert froze. He was sure he'd heard that phrase before, from Francis and occasionally in French class. "_Was_?"

"N-nothing, umm, food's here!" The waitress set their plates down and left them to their own devices.

Matthew nearly drowned his pancakes in syrup and quickly occupied himself with digging into the fluffy disks, a light blush coating his cheeks. Gilbert, figuring he wouldn't say much more on the subject, did the same. However, the second Matthew didn't have anything in his mouth, he jumped. "You said you loved me."

The poor Canadian almost choked on air. Once he had calmed down, he looked at his plate and blushed. "I've… liked you for a while…" He whispered. "And… I never had the guts to actually go up and talk to you. Mostly because you're a little scary." This made the silverette raise an eyebrow. "But every time I see you I feel… floaty." He looked up and smiled weakly. "You follow?"

Gilbert ran a hand through his hair. "Birdie…" Matthew tried to shrink into the chair, but Gilbert grinned like a madman. "Why didn't you just say so?"

Matthew looked up and was immediately greeted with Gilbert's lips on his. It was simple, and quick, but it spoke volumes to both of them. When he pulled away, Gilbert smile slyly. "Kesesesese… I probably shouldn't have done that."

"Wh-why not?" Matthew squeaked.

"'Cause now I'm addicted to _you_." Gilbert licked his lips.

Matthew tasted like maple syrup.

"Tink, tink!" They both looked down at the table. Gilbert picked up his silver sliver, Matthew picked up his red one. They had broken the same way. "Oh thank Fritz…" Gilbert murmured, offering it to Matthew.

The blond grinned brightly and took it, giving Gilbert his. They both replaced their pieces. Gilbert was astonished by the feeling. It was as though a great warmth had washed through his being; he felt as light as his birds. One look at Matthew told him he felt the same. "I'll tell you something right now Birdie. This was worth the wait." He grinned and kissed him again. Matthew easily complied.

**Me-I hope you all liked this! Not gonna tell you who I'm writing for next though~! R&R!**


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